Amends
by Scotia Daniel
Summary: In the fight for their lives, Leonardo risks his own life to protect the woman that tried to end it.


Leonardo dodged the blade in time, leaning his head back as the silver of the sword slice by centimeters away from his face. It had been a close one. Then again, the night had been full of close ones.

The mutant lifted his head to see Karai bring the sword back and close to her body, her face twisted in pain and anger. He had put that expression on her. He had betrayed her trust and became the thing he thought he wasn't. He was as bad as she used to be and he had ruined so much in a short amount of time.

Both had cuts on each others faces, arms, legs...it had been a normal night of patrol when they both ran into one another. At first he looked forward to them bumping into one another, but now...now it was just painful. He wanted to hate her, but he couldn't. Just like he could see the hesitation and pain behind her eyes.

Leonardo stepped forward to swing his katanas. He'd miss. He always did. At least, he tried to. He figured she knew, but that didn't mean she went easy on him. But he didn't blame her. He really had screwed up.

A hum could be heard and Leonardo felt a shiver go down his spine. They turned to see a Kraang ship ripple from taking off the invisibility shield it had. Leonardo dropped his katanas and pulled Karai to him, dodging lasers shot at them in time. The two rolled a ways before Karai kicked him off and shot up. She threw kunai at the ship only for it to be repelled.

Leonardo was torn between fighting the Kraang, getting out of there, and saving himself from Karai. The young woman was set on destroying both abominations that night and there was nothing that would stop her.

The mutant made a run for it, jumping from building to building. He could hear the soft pitter patter of Karai's feet as she raced after him. Leonardo felt a kunai graze his arm and he stumbled and fell to the cement roof of a skyscraper.

Leonardo turned to stare up at Karai. She lifted her sword as the shape of the Kraang ship headed towards them. The ninja reached up and wrapped his arms around Karai's waist, pulled her to him, stood up and began to race. Up ahead, a building came closer and closer. The window was open and he dived into it.

The two rolled in the empty room of an office. They groaned, Leonardo sitting both of them up. He glanced up in time to see the ship inches away from the confines of the office building.

Before it crashed, Leonard pressed Karai into his body and turned. Fire engulfed them and he did his best to shield the young woman. Burst of heat and a flash of light filled his vision and streaked around his face. He wanted to hide his head but it was too late. He could feel blisters on his skin and had to hold back from crying out.

When the flash was over, Leonardo blinked and felt himself slump. Everything was blurry. Everything hurt. He couldn't figure out if he was able to move his limbs or not from how numb they had begun.

Leonardo could feel soft hands against the sharp pain on his face. He wanted to hiss in pain at how painful it felt. Was Karai okay? He could feel his head be lifted and he could see the hazy image of the young woman. She held his head up. Did she look...worried? Scared? For him? She was saying something. What was she saying? He wanted to reach out to touch her. To say something. Anything. Instead, he fell into darkness.

It could have been days or a few minutes, but it felt like eternity had passed when Leonardo was finally able to wake up. His head was killing him and moving made him want to crawl into a hole and die.

"Leo? You okay? You took quite the beating there, bro."

That was the biggest understatement of the year and Donatello knew that. But Leonardo smiled for his brother anyways, giving him the benefit of the doubt. He didn't have to open his eyes to know his brothers and Splinter were all surrounding him.

"How long have I been out for?"

"Few days. We got your text and came to get you."

"...text?"

"Yeah, the one about you being chased by the ship. I can't believe you got away alive. You're so lucky."

Leonardo rubbed at his face with his palms and instantly regretted it. His whole face burned and he flinched horribly.

"How bad is it?"

"You have some third degree burns but because your shell had protected you for the most part, you'll be fine. Maybe not like how you used to look before, but with time you will. Here, check it out."

Leonardo felt a mirror be placed in his hands. He opened his eyes and felt himself frown.

"How do you expect me to look at my reflection with the lights off?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's so dark. Can someone turn on a light?"

He felt awkwardness fill the air and could hear his brothers hold their breath in concern. And then he realized: the lights were on, he just couldn't see. Leonardo sat up and rubbed at his eyes, begging them to let him see something. Anything. But no, each time he tried to blink the darkness away, he was met with even more shades of black.

Leonardo felt a comforting but shaky hand be placed on his shoulder.

"I'll look into what we can do to correct your vision. The explosion must have damaged your eyes. I don't know if it's curable. But I'll try. I-"

Leonardo tuned him out. He was blind. He couldn't see a damn thing and probably won't for the rest of his life. And the last thing he saw was the face of the woman that wanted to kill him. How could he live like that?

Donatello's hand left his shoulder and it had grown quiet. No one knew what to say, and that was fine. He respected it. He laid back down and turned away from everyone and closed his eyes.

"Let's...let's give him some rest, you guys. He needs it..."

Leonardo listened to his family walk away and held back tears. He was burned, he was weak, and he was blind all because he had let that witch live. Had it been worth it? The mutant sighed. It had. He couldn't live with himself if he had left Karai to die like that. Enemy or no enemy. And even though things seemed bleak...he'll find the will to live. Somehow...

It had been months since Leonardo had been welcomed with the polluted air of New York City. He could hear the night life in the distance and felt himself smile. He felt the confidence of working with Splinter since the accident to regain who he was pulse in his veins. Yes, he may be blind, but that did not make him weak.

Leonardo could feel the vibrations of cars and pedestrians all over the place. He counted his steps and hopped to the next building with ease. He did this again and again, memorizing the city he had once taken for granted.

He had to listen more carefully when it came to battle, but since he lost his eye sight, his other senses had heightened. He could now sense attacks better than before and can feel where people were through vibrations in the ground. There were some battles he couldn't fight, but compared to how he had been months before, he was thankful he could even come close to being who he used to be.

Soft pitter patter of footsteps came closer and closer to him from the back. From the way she moved, Leonardo could tell she didn't expect him to realize she was there. But even knowing she was, he couldn't bring himself to face her. He couldn't bring himself to draw his blades for a fight. If she was aiming to kill him, he would let her.

The woman stopped a few feet from him and he could sense the want to hurt him, but it was quickly replaced with confusion. He could feel her staring at him, wondering why he wasn't trying to fight her.

"Hey, Karai. Long time no see."

Silence. He could feel her step closer, her movement filled with hesitation. He tilted his head with a sad smile.

"What's wrong, Karai. Unsure? That's not the Karai I know..."

"...Leo?"

Her hand rested on his shoulder and he couldn't tell if tears were in his eyes or not. She gently turned him around and gasped. He opened his eyes and let his glazed over pupils look in the direction he was sure her eyes were. He smiled kindly.

Karai's hand jerked away and Leonardo could hear her take a step back. That's right...she didn't know his outcome. Did she assume he was dead? Back to normal after months of not patrolling? How did she look? Had she been burned?

"You okay?" His voice was soft.

"Y-yeah...I only got burned on my left arm a bit. But it's just a scar, now. It...it could have been worse if it hadn't been for you."

"I'm glad...I'd say the scar looked cool...but then I'd be lying." He gave a sad but charming smile.

He sensed her lift her arm to touch his face but stopped her fingers an inch away from the scarred skin. He leaned his face in and let his cheek rest against her hand. Leonardo heard her gasp and he closed his eyes.

"It's okay. You can touch."

Karai hesitated. Her fingers finally started to slowly but surely explore his skin. Her hands were so soft compared to how his face must feel. He must look like a train wreck. Did she care?

"I'm so sorry, Leo. I had no idea. I-"

"It's okay, Karai. It's not your fault. I would have done it any old time. I...I know we've had issues in the past...but after all of this, I realized that I don't want to keep fighting you. Shredder's daughter or not. Even if we do fight and attack each other, that doesn't stop me from caring. I know you probably don't, but I do. And if you want to kill me, go for it. But I refuse to fight you anymore."

He reached his hand to where her blade would be. Leonardo guided it to his chest and closed his eyes. He heavily sighed and waited. And waited. But the blade just sat there with no intention to move.

The blade dropped and Leonardo was pulled into Karais' embrace. Her arms wrapped themselves tightly around his neck and he could hear and feel her sob, the tears rushing down her face and dripping onto his skin.

Leonardo hugged her waist after he let his shock die down. He could feel her pain even more now. He didn't have to see it to know it was there. What did this mean for the future?

"I'm so sorry, Leo. I'm so, so sorry..."

She repeated the phrase over and over, not letting him go. He held her close and took her in. He let her apologize and cling to him. He didn't know how long that would last for, but at least he had made his amends. At least he was able to show he cared...and from how she reacted, he knew she felt the same. And he vowed right then and there that he'd never raise a weapon to her again, even if it meant his life. And even though he was blind, he could see the start of a brighter future with the female ninja in his arms, and he couldn't think of anything better for a blind man to envision.

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**Reply to Reviews:**

**DarkSummerBrightWinter92, AntauriFangirl13, Anab: Thank you for your kind words and encouragement! The story wouldn't be the same without it. :)**

**CelticGirl7: Thank you! I really enjoyed reading your input and I'm glad the story could make you feel that way. Leo is such a sweetheart and Karai is very lucky. And so are the guys having Leo as a brother.**

**RAHELA: Wow, thank you! Funny enough, LeoxKarai wasn't a fond ship for me until after I started writing for them did I realize I really enjoy them together and love seeing their chemistry and characters on the show. **


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